Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam speaks at the launch of his re-election campaign at the Loveless Cafe in Nashville on May 31, 2014.NASHVILLE – When he first ran for the state’s top office four years ago, Republican Gov. Bill Haslam says it was not exactly a “safe bet” he would win.
But kicking off his bid for a second term Saturday, Haslam, 55, appears to be about as safe as he can be in the uncertain world of politics.
He’s got a record he’s happy to run on, $5 million in the bank, polls showing a 58 percent job-approval rating and only token opposition in the GOP primary and general election.
A thousand or so supporters joined Haslam for the launch at Nashville’s famed Loveless Cafe on the outskirts of town.
Haslam’s speech largely focused on his accomplishments, ticking off the nation’s fastest-improving student test scores last year, successes in economic recruitment and passage of his first-in-the-nation free community college program.